


new beginnings

by MaddieandChimney



Series: Meet Cutes [10]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:26:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27435799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: Maddie hasn't spoken to her brother in three years, nervously standing outside the station as she tries to gather the courage to go inside. At least, until a handsome stranger with a small scar on his forehead, offers her some comfort.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Meet Cutes [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927492
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	new beginnings

Maddie knows she has to walk inside eventually but she just can’t bring her feet to move forward. She doesn’t even know if he’s in work but at least someone there might be able to tell her where her brother now lives. It’s only been six months since he had sent the Christmas card with that particular address on it, he couldn’t have gone far.

It’s been ten minutes and she’s hovering between her car and the entrance to the station, trying to focus on taking deep breaths as she clenches and unclenches her fists. It had been a long drive to LA from Hershey, knowing that a flight would leave a trail and she had to get out of there as quietly as she possibly could, leaving no trace for her husband to find her. Even if she knew that day would eventually come – he was relentless in everything he did.

She tries not to think about that or how she had decided to run to her brother, not only because Doug didn’t know where he was or what he did but also because if she was going to die, she needed to make things right with him first. They hadn’t spoken in three years, although he still sent Christmas and Birthday cards to her, receiving nothing in return and it broke her heart to think about it. They had been so close growing up, she had made so many promises that she would always be there for him no matter what. Even she can’t believe she had lied to the man just seven years her junior, remembering those big blue eyes that used to stare up at her as though she was the only person he trusted.

That’s another reason she’s so nervous as she chews down on her bottom lip and stares at the building. What if he can’t forgive her for letting him down so much? What if he hates her? What if—what if she tells him why she left Doug and he looks at her in the way she fears the most? As though he can’t believe she’d be so stupid, so weak…

“Ma’am, are you okay?” A voice breaks through her panicking thoughts and she quickly wipes at the tears before they fall, her chest heaving as she takes a step back. Her eyes glance over at the man standing in front of her, having noticed him when she first arrived pacing up and down the path around the corner, catching glimpses of him every so often as she remained in her spot. She lets her gaze settle on him though, for the first time, catching the scar in the middle of his forehead first, then his kind eyes and his nervous smile. He’s wearing an LAFD uniform, and she knows he could be someone that her brother works with and probably doesn’t even know she exists because why would her brother talk about his sister who doesn’t respond to any of his attempts to communicate with her?

It’s when her eyes just settle on his badge, reading the name ‘Han’ in her head as she tries to think of an answer that seems appropriate. She’s not okay, she’s the furthest thing from okay she can possibly get right then because she’s on the run from her husband and he’s probably back from his conference right now and he’s noticed that she’s gone and she isn’t at work and she can only imagine the rage that would be taken out on the home she had once loved. The silence is too long and the man takes another step forward, “Are you hurt? Do you need help?” He’s so softly spoken, so wary in his words and his approach.

It’s with a breath that she shakes her head, “N-no, not hurt.” It’s an easy lie because she _is_ physically hurt but nothing that requires any medical attention and nothing she’s willing to open up about with a stranger right then. “I-I’m looking for my brother—” It’s with shaking hands that she pulls the crumpled up, tear-stained Christmas card her brother had sent her. The numbers ‘118’ can be seen clearly behind him on the fire truck, and he’s grinning at the camera in his uniform and a Santa hat.

“Buck? I didn’t know he had—Buck is here, he might be sleeping at the moment but he’s here. Do you want to come in? I can grab him for you.”

There’s immediate relief that she’s at the right place and had seemingly asked the right person but she shakes her head anyway, “Not yet. I haven’t seen or spoken to him in three years, maybe just another five minutes.” The handsome firefighter stranger smiles, or rather, grimaces and she finds herself wondering why he was outside pacing at close to midnight when he should probably be sleeping too.

It’s as though he knows exactly what she’s thinking or he’s picked up on her awareness of his nervous energy as he shifts from one foot to the other and everything he says is a little breathy as though he’s forcing himself to talk steadily. “I uh, have a doctors appointment tomorrow, just feeling a little on edge. Can’t sleep.” His hand moves to the scar on his forehead and she gets the picture without him having to go into it any further. It doesn’t look fresh but it looks recent enough to still need monitoring and she can only imagine the kind of incident that would create a scar that looks like that would have been traumatic enough without the additional check-ups that would follow.

Maddie doesn’t know what to say but she nods her head and offers him a small smile, wrapping her arms around herself before her eyes look back at the door and she knows she has to move soon before the bell goes off and she misses her chance. “I-I think I’m ready.”

His smile is bright and he starts to walk towards the building, glancing back at her to make sure she’s following before he holds out his hand the second they get to the door, “I’m Howie, by the way, but my friends call me Chimney.” Before she can say anything, he grins and opens the door after she’s shaken his hand, “I’ll tell you the story someday.”

When she steps through the door, she shoots a shy smile at him and brushes her hair behind her ears, “Maddie Ke—Buckley. Maddie Buckley.”


End file.
